Between August 15th–17th, 2025, a small friendly gathering of two groups – FALCONRACE.CZ and FALCONRACE.BE – took place in Belgium, right on the border with the Netherlands (in the Antwerp area). All three days were spent with rabbit hunting with ferrets, a hunting method that Czech falconers usually know only from books these days. The hunt itself deserves its own article, so for now I’ll just share the highlight of the weekend, which came on Sunday afternoon.
First, some background. The motto of FALCONRACE.CZ is “connecting – protecting – educating.” That’s why every year we aim not just to bring together the national falconry community but also the international one – and so far it’s been working well. Among our regular participants and big supporters of this idea were Belgian falconers Stijn Suykerbuyk and Geert Peeters. They felt that this element was missing in Belgium and needed to be built up. That’s how FALCONRACE.BE began to take shape. But before launching big events, they first needed to gather enough people who shared the same passion – just like we once did. Our Belgian friends started promoting what had inspired them the most, our upcoming festival. This, however, requires great commitment from other potential participants, as attending mean a half-day journey across Europe. So as a small preview, FALCONRACE.BE organized what they called a training day, held that Sunday afternoon.
The idea was modest: a small local event to see if there was real interest. But reality went beyond expectations – so many wanted to come that some even had to be turned away due to limited space. In the end, 30 falconers showed up, bringing 11 Harris’s hawks and 4 large falcons of different species. The birds competed in the classic disciplines: the speed flight to the lure. The only change was that the falcons flew shorter distances – 100 m in the first round and 120 m in the second – because most of them were still at the start of their training, and some were even flown without a creance for the very first time. One falconer even flew his bird to a drone. The whole event had a relaxed, friendly vibe, and Dutch hunting horn players added a traditional touch. The general public walking by also stopped to watch with great interest.
After the results were announced, part of the group moved on to a backyard-style barbecue. There, in a friendly mood, people swapped stories about their birds, about hunting, and about what excites them – and also what frustrates them – in falconry. The main differences between our countries came down to laws (for example, in the Netherlands you can only hunt with a goshawk or a peregrine falcon). But when it came to our views, we were the same. Everyone agreed: the best thing is watching our birds hunting. Unfortunately, the landscape in all three represented countries makes that very difficult. Hunting opportunities are few, and often tied to money and personal connections. Maybe that’s why it felt so good to sit together around the fire, setting aside language barriers, and just share knowledge, experiences, and stories.
The event got very positive feedback and confirmed for the organizers that it’s worth continuing. The next meeting will definitely have broader support and even more interest. Already at the event, some falconers promised that this year they would come to the Czech Republic for FALCONRACE.CZ – not just for training, but to compete in the real race. We hope they keep that promise and that we’ll see them soon.
Meanwhile, training in Belgium goes on. Because of the big success, another training day was held on September 7th, this time without spectators or cultural extras, so there was more time and space for all the participants.
Our Czech group headed back home the next day. It definitely took a while for each of us to process all the new impressions and experiences. A huge thank-you goes to our Belgian friends for the invitation and for making the whole weekend and the hunts possible – and we look forward to seeing each other again soon.
